//------------------------------// // The Standoff // Story: Breaking Habits // by Gosky3 //------------------------------// The chaotic half of Discord complacently sat on his throne among the storm of chaos, which had engulfed the entirety of Ponyville by now. All the color in his body had been replaced by grays, giving him the appearance of an animated shadow. Sighing, the shadow took a sip from his chocolate milk of glass and pondered what color the sky should be. He went through every possible hue imaginable - green, orange, yellow, turquoise, ruby, chartreuse... - over and over again, turning the sky into an epileptic display, until somepony interrupted him. “Hey!” Spike shouted. The shadow turned to see a smaller dragon below his throne, along with Rarity and Pinkie on either side. He finished off his glass of milk in one chomp before addressing them. “What? I'm busy making perfectly good chaos.” He turned back to the sky, and resolved to leave it in a cycle through various colors. Hopping in front of the others, Pinkie chimed in. “We were just discussing the whole ‘being under your chaos rule’ thing, and got in a huge fight with Twilight and the others.” She began to mimic her friends to the best of her ability. “They were all like, 'But this Discord's evil!' and Spike was like, 'It's not that bad' and Twilight was being mean and it was horrible, so we left them!” The other draconequus seemed rather unimpressed with her reenactment of the event. Sensing his indifference, Rarity carried on from here. “Contrary to their views, we were thinking that it wouldn’t be that bad with you ruling over Equestria from now on. In fact, it could be a grand inspiration for a new line of dresses!” She held up a sketchbook filled with wacky, nonsensical designs that any form of Discord would appreciate. “Yeah, we were wondering if you could share some of your chaos-y ideas with us,” Spike finished. The trio put on their most inviting and photogenic smiles, as if posing for an advertisement, sincerely hoping that their half-baked idea would work. The draconequus scoffed at their act. “I don't believe any of you for a second.” Yet in spite of his attitude, a mischievous grin slowly stretched across his face. “But I'll play your game either way.” Promptly, he teleported right next to the gang of ponies, and mockingly scoured the area for something. “So? Where's the trick? An attack, a spell, some surprise for me?” He glared at them, expecting a response, but neither Spike nor Rarity would speak up, and Pinkie Pie had been distracted by the array of colors flashing through the sky. “Hey, tall, dark and evil!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “It's over here!” Out of nowhere, the pegasus swooped in, making the shadow have to duck to avoid getting hit by the living bullet. “Oh, is that so? Rather anticlimactic. But, I'll take it.” He raised his talon up to conjure some counterattack, until Fluttershy zoomed past and interrupted him. “Excuse me, sorry...” she muttered as she flew past. The two continued flying around him like overgrown gnats, keeping him from being able to take more than two steps at one time, and proving to be rather successful distractions. Each time they flew by, the impostor only got more and more frustrated. He rolled his eyes. “Hmph. I assumed you'd at least have a plan worthwhile for me to foil,” he jeered. Once he finally found an opportunity, he snapped and trapped the two pegasi on a giant sheet of sandpaper. Cracking his talon, he prepared another spell. “Now if that's all, I’ll be sending you ponies to my brand-new licorice dungeon.” Falling out of her previous trance, Pinkie's ears perked. “That doesn’t sound so bad.” She licked her lips at the very thought of it. “My black licorice dungeon.” Instantly, her face dropped upon imagining the horror of such a construction. With determination crossing her face, she raised her wings offensively and hopped in the air, as if suddenly remembering her role in this whole affair. “You’ll never take us alive. Attack!” In response to the battle cry, a lasso swung in and wrapped around the shadow, keeping his arms at bay. Applejack was on the other end, pulling to keep her grip on him tight while he struggled. “We gotcha now!” she muttered through her clenched teeth, holding the rope. After fighting for a bit, the shadow simply rolled his eyes. “What, now a rope’s going to hold me? Do you truly think so lowly of me?” He went to try and snap with his tail, but Pinkie put her horn to good use and zapped him with a magic blast. “Take that!” she cried. She shot another blast. “And that! And that!” Bursts of magic fired endlessly from her horn. The shadow made several attempts to avoid them, most of which failed. Before he was burnt to a crisp, Twilight flew in and created a bubble shield to hold their opponent temporarily. Freeing himself from the rope, he went to bang on the shield, ultimately to no avail. “I think that’s check and mate.” The princess landed next to the rest of her friends, and they surrounded their captive, just in case he had one last trick up his sleeve. Fortunately for them, it appeared he didn't. The true Discord stepped forward, holding the same book he’d used earlier to cast the spell in the first place. “That’s enough chaos for now, I think,” he said. Book in paw, he flipped to the page with the required counterspell. “Alright, then, let’s get this over with…” Instead of continuing, he was interrupted by the sound of his other half chuckling. At that moment, everypony glared at him and took a defensive stance. “This shield may hold me in, but not my magic,” he said. SNAP! The entire group, save Discord, was instantly rendered immobile, and they lay stuck in their last positions like living statues. Promptly, the shield surrounding the shadow burst and he was freed once again. “So, is that it as far as your plan goes? Sort of lackluster if you were to ask me. Any other ideas?” It was clear that Discord had run out of ideas as soon as this one had been foiled. It had been a long shot to begin with. He looked around frantically, hoping that some opportunity or plan or anything else would make itself clear. It didn’t. “Then that plan has got to be almost as pitiful as you, honestly. How about a true draconequus-to-draconequus battle? Might I suggest a change in scenery? Perhaps - “ After another snap, they were teleported to the edge of a cliff, with waves splashing against the rocks below them. “Then again, that may be too dramatic. How about…” Their surroundings melted away into the starry night sky, and the two floated in the farthest reaches of the cosmos. “...Hmm...I’m not really in a sci-fi mood…” The land now changed to a gorgeous meadow decorated to the brim with flowers. “And this is far too happy…” “Enough stalling!” bellowed Discord. Acting as if he were offended, the shadow returned the environment back to the way it was - or, how it was after his chaotic alterations. “Oh. I merely wanted to make things more exciting.” “I think they’re plenty exciting as it is.” The true Discord took a step forward. His counterpart stepped up as well, floating in the air slightly as he spoke. “So. Let me understand your point of view. You think being the Spirit of Chaos doesn’t warrant a need for…” He stroked his beard. “Hmm, what’s the word...chaos?” Starting to brave his own creation, real Discord flew up so that the two were on the same level. “No. I just don't think being the Spirit of Chaos has to involve hurting friends.” Back and forth, one of them floated up just enough to be above the other, and the cycle repeated over and over again until they were hanging high in the sky. The ponies below could do nothing but watch, still as statues, as the scene unfolded. “Friends? The ones that rejected and scorned you?’ “And the ones that have stayed with me flaws and all, throughout this whole incident.” The two remained at the same elevation as they continued nearing one another. “Even through everything I’ve created.” “Please. Do you think they really care?” He glanced down at the others, kept in the same positions by the spell, and took an actual moment to consider. “...Yes," he said with the most confidence he'd had all day. "I think they do.” The two deities were face to face at this point, with mere inches separating them. They stared each other down in an intense standoff for what felt like hours, although it was probably only seconds. At last, the impostor broke the silence. “Hmph. Have it your way. You can join them and wallow in black licorice.” He reached out to snap one final time and condemn them all to a tasteless doom, when Discord grabbed his talon right before the spell was cast. A golden glow appeared where he touched his other half, and the other was suddenly paralyzed. A sudden pain seemed to flush through his counterpart's body. Thus, Discord took the opportunity as the shadow struggled, reciting the counterspell. “Two ends of the Earth, two halves of one whole. Though both differing, both part of one soul - “ His other half was trapped, but relentlessly tried to wrestle the spell in vain. “ - two sides of one coin, two parts of one form - shall join once again and be once again born.” The two of them began radiating in a magical aura that continued to get brighter and brighter, the shadow continuing to try to move and break away from his other. After a while, a blinding flash of light engulfed them both, and extended until it covered the whole of Ponyville. Once the light cleared, the Mane Six found themselves able to move once again. Everypony was relieved, and had to stretch after having been stuck in such awkward positions for the past few minutes. “Is everypony alright?” exclaimed Twilight, looking to make sure that all her friends were there. While the others were still dazed over what had happened, Fluttershy’s eyes immediately darted to where her draconequus friend lay. She galloped over to him in a heartbeat. “Oh my, is he alright?” Rarity said upon noticing him. Following her cue, everypony ran to their draconequus friend, who was spread across the road motionless. Fluttershy was the first to his side, but the rest soon followed and encouraged him to get up. Nopony wanted to ask the damning question, even as tears started to flood Fluttershy's eyes. They all persisted trying to wake him, not one of them giving up hope. And it took a moment of coaxing, but soon he showed signs of life. Groggily, Discord came to and rolled over so to as face away from the others. “My, my. Can I take one nap after saving Equestria from myself? I swear, ponies and personal space...” Ignoring his less-than-likeable attitude, Fluttershy embraced the exhausted spirit in a heartwarming cry of relief. Every one of them soon followed and joined in, until they were all in one giant, slightly uncomfortable, group hug. All Discord could manage to do was groan in discomfort.